Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Funding Cuts Come As Gut-Punch To New York Hospitals Stretched To The Limits With Surge Of Patients

“During a time I need to commit all the energy I have to really save lives and expand access and not skimp on resources, now I have to worry about how we’re going to continue to pay our bills," said Dr. David Perlstein, CEO of St. Barnabas Hospital. In other hospital news: rural areas worry about already tight resources, outbreak deniers film activity outside facilities, White House asks for data on patients, cities and states scramble to set up overflow locations, and more.

The New York Times:
N.Y. Hospitals Face $400 Million In Cuts Even As Virus Battle Rages
For the last few weeks, Dr. David Perlstein has been scrambling to find more beds and ventilators, knowing that the coronavirus outbreak, which has filled his Bronx hospital with more than 100 patients, will undoubtedly get much worse. Then a week ago, Dr. Perlstein, the chief executive officer of St. Barnabas Hospital, was given some disturbing news by a state senator: His hospital could soon lose millions of dollars in government funding. (Ferre-Sadurni and McKinley, 3/30)

Modern Healthcare:
New York Healthcare Workers Say They've Never Faced A Medical Emergency Of This Scale Before
New York's battle with COVID-19 has brought the region's hospital system to its knees.The state is asking hospitals to double their bed counts and is desperately trying to find 10 times as many ventilators as they currently have. Convention centers and college dorms have been enlisted to make room for an anticipated surge of patients. Doctors and nurses have turned to social media to beg for the protective gear that will keep them from becoming patients themselves. (Lamantia, 3/30)

NBC News:
Coronavirus Strains Rural Hospitals 'To The Absolute Limit'
Brad Huerta found himself vacuuming the halls of his rural Idaho hospital last week. As the CEO of Lost Rivers Medical Center, in Arco, Idaho, it’s not his normal job, nor is it normal for the maintenance staff to be directing traffic of patients coming in with symptoms outside, or having the emergency department doctors take on extra shifts to fill in as nurses. But rural hospitals trying to stay afloat in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic are a long way from normal. Often underfunded, understaffed and undersupplied, they’re now facing the looming impacts of COVID-19. (Shivaram, 3/30)

NBC News:
Coronavirus Deniers Take Aim At Hospitals As Pandemic Grows
On Saturday, a video taken outside the Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York went viral, showing a quiet scene in an attempt to counter the idea that the coronavirus pandemic has strained some hospitals. The video, taken by former Fox News commentator Todd Starnes, jump-started a conspiracy theory that resulted in a trending hashtag and millions of video views — all of which pushed the idea that the pandemic has been overblown by public health organizations and the media. A day later, a different video of the same hospital went viral on Facebook and Twitter. It showed bodies being loaded onto an 18-wheeler outside the same hospital. (Zadrozny and Collins, 3/30)

ABC News:
White House Asking Hospitals To Email Them Data On Coronavirus Patients
Vice President Mike Pence has taken the extraordinary step of asking the nation's nearly 4,700 hospitals to submit via email daily updates to a federal inbox on how many patients have been tested for novel coronavirus, as well as information on bed capacity and requirements for other supplies. The request from Pence to hospital administrators was a stunning admission by the government that it still doesn't have a handle on the scope of the fast-moving virus and what it needs to combat it. (Flaherty, 3/30)

Boston Globe:
State Hunting For 1,000 Nursing Home Beds To Treat Recovering Coronavirus Patients
State officials Monday were scrambling to find about 1,000 skilled nursing beds for recovering COVID-19 patients across Massachusetts, raising the possibility of relocating hundreds of nursing home residents in a first-in-the-nation plan to relieve pressure on hospitals bracing for a surge of new patients. The goal, Governor Charlie Baker said at a news briefing Monday afternoon, is to “ensure that we have the right kinds of beds in the right places to serve people once the surge arrives.” (Weisman and Krantz, 3/30)

Detroit Free Press:
TCF Center To Become A Coronavirus Field Hospital, But Staffing A Concern
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has issued an executive order designed to help ease what is expected to be a serious shortage of health care professionals to staff the 900-bed field hospital that will be created at TCF Center in Detroit.When the transformation of the center from its status as the state's largest convention center to a field hospital is complete, the beds and medical equipment will all be in place. (Gray, 3/30)

Detroit Free Press:
Henry Ford Health Uses Mobile Unit For Newborn Appointments
Henry Ford Health System is expanding options for new parents as metro Detroit hospitals fill with novel coronavirus patients. The Department of Pediatrics at the hospital announced its mobile medical unit will be utilized for newborn follow-up appointments for babies discharged from Henry Ford Health Systems or needing an urgent appointment. (Spelbring, 3/30)

Thank you for your interest in supporting Kaiser Health News (KHN), the nation’s leading nonprofit newsroom focused on health and health policy. We distribute our journalism for free and without advertising through media partners of all sizes and in communities large and small. We appreciate all forms of engagement from our readers and listeners, and welcome your support.

KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF (formally, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation). You can support KHN by making a contribution to KFF, a non-profit charitable organization that is not associated with Kaiser Permanente.

Click the button below to go to KFF’s donation page which will provide more information and FAQs. Thank you!